Friday, August 14, 2015

Cayetana Played Asbury Lanes w/ Chumped, Worriers, Thin Lips, and ROMP, 8/13/15 (PHOTOS)

Philadelphia's Cayetana were back at Asbury Lanes.

Five Spot

I'm gonna be straight with you. Sometimes, I see five-band bills; and I'm like, "Really?? C'mon." CoolMom always makes fun of me for how early I get to shows; but I've always felt that, if you're in, you've gotta be in for the whole thing. There's definitely a little "for better or for worse" aspect to that sometimes. I had absolutely no reservations about last night's five-band lineup, though.

Top to bottom -- Cayetana, Chumped, Worriers, Thin Lips, ROMP -- last night's show was either bands I'd seen several times and loved (Cayetana, Worriers, ROMP) or bands who came highly recommended from people I trust (Thin Lips, Chumped). Top to bottom, nobody disappointed.

ROMP have tightened up (ha!) considerably since I first saw them this past winter. Lucas Dalakian is still non-stop motion on stage; and, last night, he was playing a vintage 1968 Mustang that looked pretty damn cool.

Thin Lips were without their bass player, but still managed to impress. They brought a version of pop punk that kept reminding me of their City of Brotherly Love brethren Swearin', who I love.

This was my third or fourth time seeing Worriers, and I'm becoming a bigger and bigger fan of their sing along political pop punk anthems. The band are touring in support of their recently-released and Laura Jane Grace-produced Imaginary Life. I've spent a lot of time with that record over the last several days, and the songs had just as much punch live.

New York's Chumped are a band I've heard a lot about over the last year or so, but never actually heard. I've, apparently, been missing a great deal because their set last night kind of blew me away. They live somewhere in the spaces between 1990s indie rock and pop punk. I even heard them getting a little shoegazy at times, which -- obviously -- works for me. Singer / guitarist Anika Pyle has a warm personality and appeared genuinely moved by the crowd and by the opportunity to tour with the other bands on the bill.

I first saw Cayetana on singer / guitarist Augusta Koch's birthday at Asbury Lanes back in 2013. The band played that night with Laura Stevenson and our friends in Dentist and Paper Streets. I was immediately a fan. Their 2014 Nervous Like Me is a favorite of mine, and all the honesty and emotion on that record comes across during the band's live show. Like the other bands before them, Cayetana seemed pleasantly taken aback by the response they got at Asbury Lanes. They peppered a few new songs into their set, and I'm excited to hear their next effort.

No matter how you slice it, five bands makes for a long evening. It was a long evening, though, of getting to chat up some of the artists I've admired for a while now between sets of great music. It went by effortlessly; and, when Cayetana announced their last song, I couldn't believe it was already over.

Here are some highlights from all of the sets. Head over to Flickr for the rest of the pics.



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